Boat drive



June 6, 1939.

L. LAYNE BOAT DRIVE Filed April 11, 1936 LESLIE A. LAYNE IN N ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED STATES AT ENT OFFICE 4' Claims.

The invention relates to a boat drive'and particularly a drive of a type-which will position a propeller in anarea of hard water which has been undisturbed so that a maximum propulsion 5- of both will'be obtained.

In devising and arranging the propeller and its associated mechanism in boat drives, it is desirable to place the propeller in an area of undisturbed water so that it willhavea-maximum propelling effect and it is also desirable to have the propeller rotate in a plane which is perpendicular to the path of travel of the boat because when rotating in this perpendicular plane the propeller will have the maximum efliciency.

: Another object of the invention is to rotate the propeller on an axis parallel to the path of travel of the boat so as to obtain a true' screw efiect.

Another object of the invention is to make the true pitch of the propeller available when it is thrust against undisturbedwat'er to obtain the maximum efiiciency thereof.

Another object of the invention is to rotate the propeller about an axis which is parallel to the path of travel of the boat as distinguished from rotating it about an axis which is inclined to the path of travel of the boat.

Another object of the' invention is to provide a boat drive wherein the boat will be driven along 30, a line parallel to the level of the water by a propeller which is rotating in-a plane perpendicular to the path of travel.

Another object of the-invention is toprovide a ring gear assembly whereby the power is transferred from the boat to the propeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stream line ring gear assembly drive for boats whereinthe ring gear rotates in a plane perpendicular to the path of travel of the boat.

40 Another object of the invention" is to provide a drive assembly which is stream-lined where it projects below the bottom of the boat.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a boat drive whereby the boat will ride on the water as distinguished from plowing through Water.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the use of a long propeller shaft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drive for a boat offering a minimum resistance to travel thru'the water and a maximum power efficiency.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent when the description is considered in connection with the drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a side view of the boat to which the invention has been applied and showing a portion thereof broken away to illustrate the arrangement of the parts.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 5 1, and illustrates an arrangement of the gearing.

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2 but shows an internal gear and pinion arrangement.

Fig. 4 is a rear view looking at the bottom of Fig. 1. 10'

The rotation of a propeller efiects movement of the boat in the water because of the pitch of the propeller and, of course, various speeds, weights and the amount of power available determine the pitch of the propeller. I have found, 15"

however, that where the propeller rotates about an axis which is inclined with respect to the path of travel of the boat that the efiiciency of the propeller is materially reduced, and I have therefore so arranged the drive assembly and sup- 20 port for the propeller in connection with the present invention that the propeller will rotate about an axis which is parallel with the path of travel of the boat and in a plane which is perpendicular to the path of travel. When the propeller rotates thusly it seems obvious that the designed pitch of the blades will always be available to assert the maximum drive effect.

As distinguished from the above arrangement,

if the axis about whichthe propeller rotates is inclined with respect to the path of travel, we have a condition where the true pitch and screw effect of the propeller are no longer available. As an instance of this, if a propeller has a pitch angle of, say 17 degrees and the propeller shaft upon which it is mounted is inclined at an angle of 10 degrees with respect to the path of travel of the boat thru the Water then the pitch of the blades with respect to the water through which it is travelling is materially changed. Thus the pitch on the near side or the down-stroke of the wheel will be increased to a pitch of 27 degrees because the inclination of the shaft is in efiect added to the pitch; whereas, the pitch on the far side or up-stroke of the wheel will be reduced to 7 degrees because the inclination of the shaft will be deducted. This seems obvious because of the inclination of the shaft about which the propeller rotates with respect to the path of travel. The result of this variation is that on 50;

Naturally this unbalanced condition creates a loss of efficiency of the propeller because one side is working at a very low pitch angle and the other side at a pitch angle which is greater than intended. The unbalanced condition, therefore, creates an undue disturbance of the water through which the propeller is passing, the pull on the boat is unbalanced, unnecessary vibration results from the loss of balance, and actual tests indicated conclusively that there is a great loss of efficiency of a tilted propeller as compared with one which is travelling as a true screw with its designed pitch available.

In Fig. 1 a boat is illustrated generally at 2 and may be of any conventional type which is arranged to support a power unit such as an internal combustion engine. As is usual with engines of this type a drive shaft such as 3 extends therefrom and its rotation serves as a source of power to effect rotation of the propeller. In the present instance a drive gear 4 is fixed to the shaft 3 and is illustrated as meshing with a driven gear 5. A housing is illustrated generally at 6 and serves as a support for the gear 5, which in turn is mounted upon a pinion shaft 7 carried by the housing 6. This pinion shaft carries a pinion gear 8 meshing with a ring gear Iii which is mounted on the bearings I l, which travel on the bearing portion l2 of the housing 6.

As seen in Fig. 2 the housing 6 is in the form of an annulus having the enlarged portion Hi thereon to accommodate the drive pinion and a second enlarged portion I5 which is diametrically opposite the first enlargement Hi. This second enlargement accommodates a driven pinion H which is fixed to the propeller shaft 19. The shaft in turn carries the propeller 20. The propeller may be of any desired configuration or shape, depending upon various circumstances which may be encountered.

The housing 6 carries a base plate 25 which has the extending fins 26 on each side thereof so that it may be suitably affixed to the base 28 of the boat. As seen in Fig. 1 the propeller 20 projects ahead of the forward side of the ring gear housing so that it is arranged to rotate in undisturbed water. The housing 6 will be curved at 29 below the base portion 25 to provide a streamlined surface to the water through which the boat passes.

The arrangement of the engine and the driving mechanism with respect to the boat has been so constructed'and arranged that the boat will travel in the position shown in Fig. 1 with the propeller 20 located in a plane which is perpendicular to the path of travel illustrated diagrammatically by the line 2|. Thus the propeller shaft ll will travel in a path parallel to the surface of the water, it being intended that the boat will be designed to remain in a substantially horizontal position so that the propeller shaft and the bottom of the boat are parallel. On the other hand, if the boat is to ride at an inclination with respect to the surface of the water, the housing 6 will be so positioned in the boat at an inclination with respect to the axis of the boat so that the axis of the propeller shaft will be parallel with the surface of the water. It seems obvious that the angle at which the housing 6 is to be mounted with respect to the axis of the boat can be readily determined and the housing then fixed in the desired position. With constructions such as just described the full eiiiciency of the propeller can be obtained by all blades at all times, and there will be no unbalanced pulling effect as is present where the propeller is inclined with respect to the path of travel.

Fig. 3 shows a slightly modified form of the ring gear in the housing 6 wherein the ring gear H] has the bearings 32 mounted on the outer periphery thereof, whereas the inner periphery is provided with the gear teeth 33 to be actuated by the drive pinion I. The driven pinion l5 meshes with the teeth 33 on the inner periphery of the ring gear. The projections l2 and I5 are thereforeprovided on the inside of the ring gear housing annulus and further the streamlining effect thereof.

In Fig. 4 a rear view of the boat has been illustrated and the ring gear housing 6 is shown as projecting below the bottom 35 of the boat. The plate 25 is fixed to the base of the boat and the construction of the annulus provides an opening 36 between the base of the boat and the lower inside circular edge of the housing 6. In this manner the boat is stabilized by the flow of water through the opening 35. The rudder 31 is shown as behind the propeller 28 so that it is in the flowd stream from the propeller in order to obtain the maximum steering effect from the moving water,

What is claimed as new is:

1. A drive assembly for boats comprising a power unit, a drive shaft extending therefrom, a ring gear housing having an opening therethrough, a ring gear therein, a connection to transmit power from said shaft to said gear; means mounting said gear housing transversely of the axis of the boat so that a passage through said housing is provided and projecting below the bottom of the boat, a propeller shaft carried by said housing .and rotatable by said gear, and a propeller on said shaft disposed in front of said housing.

2. A propeller drive for boats comprising an annular housing, a plate thereon to mount said housing transversely of the keel of the boat with the housing projecting below the boat bottom, a propeller shaft carried by said housing, a ring gear in said housing to. rotate said shaft, and a propeller on said shaft to rotate in .a plane parallel to said housing.

3. A propeller drive for boats comprising an annular housing, a plate thereon to mount said housing transversely of the keel of the boat with the housing projecting below the boat bottom, a propeller shaft carried by the lowermost part of said housing, a ring gear in said housing to rotate said shaft, and a propeller on said shaft to rotate in a plane parallel to said housing, said housing being mounted in the boat so that said propeller shaft is parallel to the surface of the water being traversed.

4. A drive assembly for boats having a propeller comprising an open ring gear and housing through which the water stream from the propeller may flow, and a shaft to drive said propeller, said shaft being parallel to the path of travel of the boat.

LESLIE A. LAYNE. 

